Last week Mebert Ray Ford at breathed his last breath more after more than 24 years of pain and tears that he created.

In 1986, Ford brutally killed local woman Martha Chapman Matrich and her 11-year-old niece, Lisa Renee Chapman.

He was convicted and sentenced to death in October of 1986. After 32 appeals for his life he was granted the same amount of mercy he showed his victims and was executed by lethal injection by the state of Georgia.

We believe the death penalty is sometimes warranted. We also believe that it should be administered in a swift manner in open-and-shut cases such as Ford’s. He got to enjoy watching his daughter grow up, albeit behind bars, while Lisa’s mother could only wonder about the kind of woman she would have become. 

Allowing a man like Ford, who showed no remorse after his conviction and none while he was lying on his death gurney, to live another 24 years after the atrocity he committed is inexcusable. Laws need to be amended so that monsters like Ford and his state-paid lawyers cannot play the justice system like a well tuned fiddle.

The cost to the taxpayers of Georgia to house and feed this caged animal was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. We don’t like the thought of any portion of what’s shaved off of our paychecks providing tasty morsels for men like Ford to enjoy.

Yes, Melbert Ray Ford received his due justice on June 9. We had hoped for the victims’ families’ sake that he would have apologized and allowed a prayer to be said over him. Although he did not, we hope that all involved in the terrible crime will feel some peace in knowing that Ford will receive a more just punishment in the afterlife.